Mindrolling – Raghu Markus – Ep. 285 – The Craving Mind with Dr. Judson Brewer

Mindrolling - Raghu Markus - Ep. 285 - The Craving Mind with Dr. Judson Brewer

Dr. Judson Brewer visits the Mindrolling Podcast for an exploration of how we can overcome the craving and habituations of the mind.

Judson Brewer MD PhD is a thought leader in the field of habit change and the “science of self-mastery”, having combined over 20 years of experience with mindfulness training with his scientific research therein. He is the Director of Research and Innovation at the Mindfulness Center and associate professor in psychiatry at the School of Medicine at Brown University. Learn more at judsonbrewer.com

There Is A Way Out

Judson shares the path that led him to pursue the intersection of modern science and wisdom of the past.

”It all started with suffering. ‘Seeing the size of the cloth’ as some put it. Seeing that there actually could be a way out. That we can pair modern science together with what has been known for thousands of years.” – Dr. Judson Brewer

From Cocaine to Twitter (7:50)

Raghu and Judson look at the wide spectrum of addiction that each one of us struggle with in some way. Judson talks about the steps to recovery that allow us to bring mindfulness to our behavioral patterns.

Check out Judson’s simple way to break a bad habit over on the Awakened Heart Blog: “A Simple Way to Break A Bad Habit”: Lessons from Dr. Judson Brewer’s TED Talk
Addiction to the Story of Me (19:05)

How can we bring awareness to the distorted narratives our minds create? Judson examines how these stories develop and obscure our sense of self.

“Recently, I have been spending time with a really accomplished yogi in India. Someone who just goes somewhere, sits down, doesn’t think about food or shelter or anything. Complete surrender to the moment.

He took us to a jungle like place where he said that he spent 6 months, he just came and sat down. I asked how you do something like that. You have no idea if you are going to get fed. How do you do that? He said to me, ‘God’s willpower.

To me that is no different than mindfulness and awareness. Just getting into a place that allows for flexibility to happen, so that we are not getting stuck in that story.” – Raghu Markus

A Worthy Quest (32:25)

We look at the quality of willpower required to put the brakes on our habituations. Change might take a lot less willpower than we might expect.

“There is more and more science that is suggesting that willpower is more of a myth than muscle. We know now that the pre-frontal cortex that seems to be associated with willpower goes offline when we get stressed.” – Dr. Judson Brewer

Getting Free (45:35)

What practices can we use to bring love and awareness to our patterns of addiction? Raghu and Judson talk about the solutions available to heal these destructive habituations.

Mindrolling - Raghu Markus - Ep. 285 - The Craving Mind with Dr. Judson Brewer

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Images via Judson Brewer